Meet Wordle, the Daily Word Game That is Sweeping the Internet
If you use social media, you have probably seen a box with green and yellow tiles all over your feeds. That’s because Wordle, a new word game, is taking social media by storm.
The game is a combination of skill and logic, according to CNN, almost like a crossword puzzle without any clues. So if you love language, this game may be right for you. The only catch is that you can only play it once a day.
In the beginning
Originally, Wordle was a labor of love for creator Josh Wardle – a software engineer – who created it for his word game loving partner, Palak Shah, reported The New York Times. The name is a play on words with Wardle’s last name.
The couple played it themselves for a few months to pass the time during the pandemic and then shared it on WhatsApp with his family who also became obsessed with it. Wardle decided to share it with the rest of the world in October, 2021. In November 1,090 people played it and by early January 2022, this grew to 300,000.
The website is low-frills, ad-free and there are no charges to play. That’s exactly the way Wardle wants it. The game really took off in December when Wardle noticed that some players were sharing their results on social media, so he built an automated way for people to boast about their scores in a way that is spoiler-free.
Wordle 198 6/6
⬛????⬛????⬛
⬛????⬛????????
????????????⬛⬛
????????????⬛⬛
????????????⬛⬛
????????????????????— Daniel Victor (@bydanielvictor) January 3, 2022
“I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just fun,” Wardle told NYT. “It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. It’s just a game that’s fun.”
Where to find Wordle
The game is web-based so you do not have to download it anywhere according to undefined. You can play on both mobile and desktop. Just click on the wordle link above and you are ready to begin playing.
You have until midnight to play and then the word resets itself and you can only play Wordle once a day. For many, it’s the highlight of their day.
How to play
It’s really simple to play. You start by choosing any five-letter word and type it into the grid. Incorrect letters pop up in grey while correct letters turn yellow. If the letter is in the right spot, it turns green. You have only six chances to try to guess the word. You know you have “won” if all the letters turn green.
There’s a high contrast color blind version and a dark mode one too. There is also a hard mode you can choose to be a bit daring.
The game has a very extensive vocabulary of 2,500 words – none of them are obscure – and no fake or misspelled words are allowed. If you do, the game will send you a “Not in word list” message.
After you finish, just click the share button to post on social media.
“It’s something that encourages you to spend three minutes a day,” Wardle told NYT. “And that’s it. Like, it doesn’t want any more of your time than that.”
You too can jump on the Wordle bandwagon and see what the buzz is all about.
